More but not less uncertainty makes adult humans� tool selections more similar to those reported with crows

• Autores: Francisco J. Silva, Kathleen M. Silva
• Localización: Learning and behavior: a Psychonomic Society publication, ISSN 1543-4494, Vol. 40, Nº. 4, 2012, págs. 494-506
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In this study, we examined whether adult humans� tool selections in a stick-and-tube problem might resemble previously published results of crows� selections if people had more experience solving the problem or were presented with a more ambiguous problem. In Experiments 1a and 1b, when given multiple opportunities to select a stick from a set of 10 to retrieve a candy located either 8 or 16 cm from the opening of a tube, the participants always selected a stick that was long enough to retrieve the candy; however, they did not generally select either the stick whose length matched the object�s distance or the longest stick in the set�two outcomes reported in studies with crows. In Experiment 2, participants who were allowed only a brief period of time to study the problem selected a longer stick than did participants allowed unlimited time to do the same. However, only when the candy�s distance was 16 cm did these people reliably select the longest stick in the set. It seems that increasing, but not decreasing, people�s uncertainty about a problem can make humans� tool selections more similar to those reported with crows.